Lil' Storm Hawks
by Daughter of Sekhmet
Summary: What happens when a mysterious crystal turns the Storm Hawks back into toddlers? A lot of headaches, a lot of troubles, and a lot of surprisingly good times.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I'm not quite sure where I got the inspiration for this story. It could have very well been me asking myself one day, hey, I wonder what the Storm Hawks were like as kids. Eh, I don't know. I don't really think it actually matters at this point, so quit reading this and get on to the story. Oh, and just to let you know, I haven't watched every episode of Storm Hawks yet, so if any information is incorrect could you please let me know? We'll just say this takes place right after "The Lesson".**

**Disclaimer: Storm Hawks belongs to Nerd Corp. The crystal, however, is of my own creation. Now that we got that out of the way….**

Stork jerked and pulled at the wheel with all his might, turning the _Condor_ out of the way of the incoming blast with feet to spare. Just as the mass of red energy passed the rudder, the entire ship shook from the thunderclap of a strike of nearby lightning. It was close. Much too close for the Merb's liking.

As his eyes scanned the controls for any indicators of damage, he couldn't help but think back to how this all started in the first place. They were on Terra Saharr shopping when they first heard a rumor of a rare and powerful crystal (didn't all their missions start off like that?). Apparently, this crystal had the power to turn back the years and make the user young again, and with continued use, keep them eternally young.

So, using the handful of vague clues and Piper's knowledge (and a ton of luck, in Stork's opinion), they were able to find the terra where the crystal was hidden. Then (with even more luck), they were able to survive all the traps and monsters guarding the temple, get the crystal, and get out before they were buried under the (typically) collapsing structure. It was then, unfortunately, that their luck ran out, when they flew through a cloud and found themselves literally nose-to-nose with a Cyclonian warship.

Why Master Cyclonis wanted the crystal was beyond Stork (she was only 14). Whatever the reason, she wasn't taking any chances this time. It wasn't just the Dark Ace, or Snipe, or Ravess. It was all three of them.

The others were trying their best, but even though the Cyclonians didn't have the enhancer crystals anymore, they still had the advantage of surprise. The storm that suddenly popped up wasn't exactly helping, either.

Stork peered out into the darkness, trying to see, well, anything. The hairs rising on the back of his neck and ears was the only split-second warning he got before a large bolt of lightning struck the _Condor_. Almost half of the lights started flashing an alarming red, and the sounds of the starboard engine dying could be plainly heard.

Yes, Stork thought, their luck was completely and undeniably gone.

He frantically reached for the radio. "I'm hit!" he screamed. "I'm making an emergency landing on the terra!"

As he wrestled with the increasingly resistant controls, Stork mentally ran through the various worst case scenarios. The ship could lose power before it even reached the terra, plunging into the Wastelands, it could plow headlong into the terra, crushing everything (himself included) inside, it could tear off its own engines scraping to a stop, making itself a sitting duck for the warship…the list just went on.

"We're doomed."

But miraculously, the _Condor_ didn't plunge into the Wastelands. It didn't plow into the terra, and it kept its engines, though Stork cringed with every piercing scream of metal scraping against hard ground. All in all, the ship, finally coming to a bumpy halt, managed to stay intact, and would hopefully need only minor repairs before being flight-worthy again.

"Stork! Are you okay?" Aerrow's concerned voice crackled over the radio.

Stork had to uncrumple himself from the floor before he could reply. "I told you looking for the crystal was a bad idea."

A scream could be heard in the background. "I got the last of the Talons!" Junko proudly announced. Apparently the advantage of surprise didn't last long.

"Great!" said Aerrow. "But…has anyone seen the Dark Ace?"

"Come to think of it, I can't find Snipe or Ravess, either," Piper replied.

Maybe they saw the beating we were giving their henchmen and ran off," Finn said confidently.

Stork glanced up from the controls just as a flash of lightning threw the area into stark illumination. In that single second of intense light, Stork saw four figures on the landing strip, three of which were instantly recognizable.

"Uh, I found them."

"Really? Where?"

A metallic groan echoed through the ship as the hangar door was forced open. "They're breaking into the _Condor_."

"Hang on, Stork! We're coming!" Despite the reassurance, the Merb started fidgeting as he waited for the others. If there was one place where he actually felt confident of winning a fight, it was on the _Condor_. The Raptors had been no problem. Despite their numbers, the Murk Raiders hadn't had much of a chance, either. And Argynn…well, Argynn was different. But the Dark Ace was another thing entirely. He probably knew the nooks and crannies of this ship as well as Stork (if not better, but Stork certainly wasn't going to admit that), and therefore was possibly the only person in Atmos that could find his traps—Stork's first and only line of defense—and avoid them.

Another bolt of lightning revealed the other Storm Hawks just touching down, weapons out and ready. Soon sounds of fighting could be heard from the large room below.

The sudden sound of the cockpit door opening caused Stork to nearly jump out his skin. He whirled around and found himself facing a smirking Talon—the fourth figure on the landing strip.

"Right where the Dark Ace said you would be," he sneered as he readied his staff.

Right as he was about to fire, however, a light blue furry blur landed on his head and started viciously biting and scratching. Screaming, the Talon stumbled forward as he tried to dislodge his assailant. He finally managed to get a hold of the fur ball and threw it off of him. Unfazed, Radarr immediately leapt back up, baring his claws and fangs and snarling like a rabid coyote.

Fortunately, the Talon, in attempting to remove Radarr, had moved closer to the center of the room, right onto Stork's favorite trap, the ejector. As the Talon turned back to his original target, Stork couldn't help but smugly grin as he reached for the lever that would evict the unwanted visitor.

Just as he grasped the lever, a dull boom, more felt that heard, rumbled through the _Condor_, momentarily disrupting the three's balances. As the Talon recovered and again brought up his staff to fire, Stork once more reached for the lever, only to once again stop.

"Wait!" he cried out.

Confused, the Talon lowered his staff slightly. "What?"

"Do you hear that?" Stork asked, ears twitching and eyes darting around the room.

Now curious, the Talon tilted his head slightly. Radarr raised first one ear, then the other, trying to catch whatever elusive noise the Merb pilot might have heard.

After a minute, the Talon finally said, "I don't hear anything."

Stork's eye twitched slightly. "Exactly."

No clash of energy blades. No sounds of quivers being launched from their bows. No crashes from stuff being thrown around.

Aside from the occasional boom of thunder from the retreating storm, the _Condor_ had become completely quiet.

**A/N: I wanted to leave this as a cliffhanger, but I think I might have spoiled it with a few key details. -_-; Oh well. Review please. Flames will be used to make s'mores. :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I can't think of anything to say. Moving on….**

**Disclaimer: You want a disclaimer? Go back to chapter one.**

As their curiosity got the better of them, Stork, Radarr, and the Talon agreed on a temporary truce until they could find the others. They slowly tip-toed down the hallways to the hangar, Radarr riding on the increasingly nervous pilot's shoulder. The Talon, though visibly scoffing at the Merb's paranoia, had nevertheless started checking shadowy corners himself.

When they approached the door leading to the too-silent hangar, Stork hung back. "Maybe you should go first."

"Me? Why should I go first?"

"You never know what's on the other side. A trap, an ambush, mind worms, a virus that turned the others into a horde of flesh-eating zombies." Stork's eye twitched. "Also, you're the one with the weapon."

The Talon stood there for a second with a slightly disturbed look on his face before slowly turning to the door. With one last glance at the pilot and the sky monkey before steeling himself, he kicked the door open and leaped in with a war cry, brandishing his staff.

And aiming at nothing.

He gave a quick glance around the empty room before hesitantly straightening from his battle pose. "There's nothing here," he called to the others before noticing something.

Scattered along the floor were seven piles of clothing that obviously belonged to the missing battlers. Among the shirts and pants he could make out a couple of bows, some swords, a mace, a staff, and knuckle busters. It was as if they all just dropped their weapons, took off their clothes, and ran off.

Radarr, meanwhile had jumped off Stork's shoulder and started padding to Aerrow's clothing, leaving Stork to examine the nearest pile.

All of a sudden, a tiny horn poked out of the clothing, and Stork found himself looking into large grey eyes. A small juvenile Wallop beamed up at him. "Hi! I'm Junko. What's your name?"

The shocked Merb answered almost automatically. "Stork."

Junko giggled. "That's a funny name!"

"Radarr!" A voice that was Aerrow's and yet not Aerrow's resounded across the hangar. A miniature version of the sky knight pulled Radarr into a large hug. "How did you get so big?"

The other piles of clothing started moving around, revealing younger versions of Piper, Finn, Ravess, Snipe and the Dark Ace.

The Talon looked at the toddlers that used to be his commanders with disbelief. "But…how?"

Stork turned to the table Piper often used for stabilizing crystals. On the floor in front of it innocently sat a lavender octahedral crystal—the crystal the now-kids had been fighting for. "Of course." Quickly grabbing a pair of long-handled tongs, he gingerly picked up the crystal and delicately placed it in a nearby safe. After carefully closing and locking it, he turned back to the Talon. "The Youthening Crystal. It really works." He looked at the kids, who were now observing their surroundings with interest. "That must have been what caused the explosion."

"Hey, look at me!" Finn cried, standing up. "I'm naked!"

Two shrill scream filled the air as Piper and Ravess dove back under their piles of clothing.

The Talon shook his head. "I think they're going to need new clothes."

Stork quirked one eyebrow. "Where? Here? The _Condor's_ a sky knight squadron carrier, not a mobile nursery."

Suddenly, he noticed Radarr, Aerrow still hanging onto him. More specifically, he noticed what Radarr was wearing….

"Say, Radarr," he slowly said as an idea started forming. "How many of those uniforms do you have?"

**A/N: For those of you who don't know what a octahedral is, imagine two four-sided pyramids with their bottom sides together. Review, please. All flames will be used to make s'mores. :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Here is where things start to get a bit interesting. And yes, the Talon is going to be a major character in this story. Don't worry, we won't be calling him "the Talon" for the whole thing. He'll be getting a name. ;)**

**Disclaimer: Please refer to chapter 1.**

As Stork and Radarr went to Aerrow's room to get more of Radarr's uniforms, the Talon was left to make sure everyone stayed in one place.

"What's your name?" Demanded Ravess, still hiding under her clothing.

The Talon's eyebrows rose up in surprise. None of the commanders, Ravess least of all, were interested in any Talon's name. To hear one of them asking, even as a toddler, was very strange. "Uh, Dave."

Snipe, who had been staring at Dave's face, suddenly started giggling. "You have a funny looking moustache!"

Dave scowled, his moustache tilting to an oblique angle. In response, Snipe started laughing harder.

The door opened to reveal Stork and Radarr returning with seven flight uniforms. "All right!" Stork said, holding up two uniforms while attempting and failing to sound genuinely cheerful. "Who wants to put their new clothes on?"

The Dark Ace suddenly gasped, his eyes going wide. He pointed to the insignia on the back of one of the uniforms. "That's the symbol of the Storm Hawks!"

Stork wasn't quite sure how to answer. Was he going to burn the uniform? "Uh, yes. Yes it is."

Aerrow had grown as wide-eyed as Ace. "If we wear those, will they make us Storm Hawks?"

"But you're already-"Stork cut himself off as he had an epiphany. Junko asking for his name, Aerrow having a misperception about Radarr's size, the way they all acted in general, like they didn't even know each other. What if the crystal not only turned them into kids, but erased their memories beyond that age, too? "Er, what I mean is, yes, wearing the uniform does indeed make you Storm Hawks."

The uniforms he was holding were whisked out of his hands and halfway onto Aerrow and Ace in the blink of an eye.

While the "new" Storm Hawks reveled in their status, Radarr started passing out the other uniforms. Some of the others didn't seem so thrilled about the clothing arrangements.

"This one has a hole in it." Ravess whined, holding up the uniform to show the tail hole. "I want a better one."

Radarr rolled his eyes as Dave quickly said, "Well, uh, they all have that hole, so you're just going to have to wear that one."

"Then I want different clothes," she huffed, throwing down the uniform and crossing her arms.

_This one and Finn are going to be such a pain_, Stork glumly predicted. He stepped forward and leaned over her. "These are the only clothes we have," he growled. "So it's either this-" he picked up the uniform and held it in her face "-or nothing."

She glared at him for a couple of seconds before snatching the uniform out of his hand and slowly putting it on.

"Hey!" Finn shouted at Dave. "Where are we, anyway?"

"We're on the _Condor_." Dave answered.

"We're _where_?" Aerrow breathed. He and Ace had such reverential looks on their faces one would have thought they had found some sacred temple.

Dave gave them a slightly worried look. "On the _Condor_?" He repeated hesitantly.

Ace turned to Aerrow. "Let's go check it out!"

"Yeah!"

They bolted to the door, followed by Finn and Junko. Finn, unfortunately, had forgotten to put on his uniform, earning two more screams as Piper and Ravess once again ducked back into their old clothing.

"Finn, get back here and put your uniform on!" Stork yelled, grabbing the discarded garment and chasing after him.

Snipe, who also hadn't gotten his uniform on, watched them run off, then got up and started to follow them.

"Snipe!"

With a cringe, he stopped and slowly turned around to find Ravess glaring at him (or she would, if she wasn't covering her eyes) and pointing at his uniform in a silent order. He shuffled back and put it on before sitting back down and waiting for her.

_Wow,_ Dave couldn't help but think as he watched the scene, _not even interested in girls yet and he's already whipped._

Aerrow and Ace ran down the hall, stopping at every door to marvel at the rooms.

"That must be the bathroom!"

"Coooool."

Stork suddenly turned the corner, panting and still carrying the uniform. "Have either of you seen Finn?"

When they both shook their heads, he growled. "I'm going to get that little monster," he muttered before heading down another hallway.

After staring down the hall for a few seconds, they turned to each other, shrugged, and went to ogle the broom closet.

Stork snuck through the hall, listening closely for any toddlerish sounds. His ears perked up when he heard some giggling. "There you are," he whispered as he silently steeped towards the source of the noise. He stopped near a panel of buttons and listened again.

The giggle was very faint, but it was just loud enough that he could determine the location and calculate its position relevant to certain spots in the hall. With a victorious smirk, he pushed a button on the panel.

There was a sudden yelp of surprise followed by a large metallic clang. Still smirking, he turned the corner to find a pouting Finn in a cage dropped from the ceiling.

"Now," he said, holding up the uniform, "to finish this once and for all."

Dave stepped into the hallway to look for the others, Piper, Ravess, Snipe, and Radarr following close behind. As the Talon looked down the hall, he noticed Junko trotting towards the group.

"Hi, Dave!"

"Uh, hello, er, Junko." To think that just a few minutes ago the Wallop would have knocked his lights out in this situation. "Have you seen any of the others?"

"Well, the yellow-haired kid and Stork went that way," he pointed back the way he came, "and the red- and black-haired kids went that way," he pointed in the opposite direction.

He had no sooner put his hand up when Aerrow and Ace came charging down the hallway, whooping and hollering.

"The cockpit was so awesome!"

"Did you see the engine? Was that cool or what?"

"Hey!" Dave called to get their attention. "Have you seen Stork or the Yellow-Haired Kid?"

"Yep. They're right behind you."

Dave turned to find Stork carrying a clothed and grumpy-looking Finn. He unceremoniously dumped Finn next to Junko. "Make sure they don't break anything," he said as he turned back to leave.

"Hey! Where are you going?" Dave cried indignantly.

"_I'm_ going to repair the _Condor_," Stork replied. "If we're going to find a way to reverse this, we need to find another crystal expert. And to find a crystal expert, the _Condor_ needs to be repaired. It's definitely not going to fix itself, now, is it?"

With no good counter-argument, Dave was reduced to glaring at the Merb's retreating back as he disappeared around the corner. He suddenly felt something tugging lightly at his pant leg.

"Mr. Dave?" Piper asked when he looked down. "May we go outside and play, please?"

Unsure, Dave glanced at Radarr, who simply shrugged in response. He then turned to the kids, looking at him expectantly.

"Hmm. Sure, why not?"

Amid the cheers, Radarr rushed forward and gestured for the rest to follow him.

"C'mon! Radarr knows the way! Let's go!" Aerrow shouted.

Radarr was suddenly forced to run for his life to avoid getting run over by the kids, while Dave nearly had to sprint to keep up, shouting, "Hey! Slow down! You'll trample each other!"

**A/N: I can't really see Stork as the type to care about taking care of kids. Dave's trying, but the poor Talon doesn't really know how. Review, please. All flames will be used to make s'mores. :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: See chapter 1**

Outside the _Condor_, the sun was starting to peek through the retreating clouds, brightly reflecting off the large puddles left behind. Birds ventured out of their nests, and their bright cheerful songs reverberated across the rainbow marked sky.

All the joy was lost on Stork, however, as he scrutinized the damage the _Condor_ had taken. There were the usual bumps and bruises the ship endured every battle, and while the pontoons had lost some of their lower armor on the ship's slide across the terra, it wasn't critical.

The right engine, however, was a different story. There was a huge gash where the lightning had struck, and wisps of smoke were still curling out of the hole from the engine. The charred metal looked warped, and Stork feared that he wouldn't be able to get the gash closed by himself. That was something Junko could do easily; or at least, something he used to be able to do easily. An annoyed frown spread across his face as the excited squeals of the former Hawks and Cyclonians grated against his ears.

He looked to the boarding ramp as Radarr scurried down, about to be mowed down by the small mob of kids. As the sky monkey looked over his shoulder to see if they were gaining on him, he tripped, landing face first in the mud. He just managed to get his head up just in time for it (and the rest of his body) to be pushed back into the ground by enthusiastic little feet.

Dave was soon seen running down the ramp, stopping at the bottom to catch his breath. "Don't (pant) get your uniforms (wheeze) dirty!" He managed to yell between gasps as Radarr looked at his now-brown fur and uniform in disgust. He decided to ignore it for now and padded over to Stork's side to see the damage for himself. After catching his breath, Dave accompanied them with a low whistle. "You think you'll be able to fix that?"

"The engine, easily. It's the hole I'm worried about. All it will take is one shot through that hole to take out the engine again, and we most likely _won't_ over a terra to make another crash landing." As Dave gulped from the implication, Stork's ears perked as he realized something. "Wait. What are you even doing here?"

"I'm going to be staying on this ship for a while, too, you know. I'd like to know fit it is."

"No, I mean, aren't you supposed to be watching them?" Stork asked with a finger in the kids' direction.

Almost on cue a shrill shriek pierced the air with an outraged cry of "FFFIIINNNN!"

In a flash Dave was sprinting away. "Finn! Whatever you're doing, stop it right now!"

By the time they got to the edge of a small tree grove, the kids had completely forgotten about Radarr and the fact that they had just trampled him. They spread through the trees and bushes, flipping over rocks, climbing the low-set branches, and soon starting a small game of hide-and-seek.

Finn had been chosen to be It, and started counting while the others scurried around looking for hiding places while trying to muffle their giggles. The others had managed to find good hiding places. It was a good five minutes before he finally spotted Ravess crouching between two saplings.

Finn was just about to tag her when he was suddenly struck with a better idea. With a wicked grin, he sneaked to the other side of the grove and overturned a rock, sticking out his tongue in disgust at the mass of writhing worms underneath. Then, without hesitation, he stuck his hand in and grabbed a bunch of the worms. Putting his other hand over his mouth to stifle his snickers, he quietly stepped back to the saplings. His grin widened when he saw that Ravess was still there, oblivious to what was about to happen. Quickly, before he could give himself away, he reached out until his closed fist was directly over Ravess's neck and opened it up, letting the worms fall.

Ravess tried to stay as still as possible, her keen eyes scanning the grove for Finn. She couldn't help but smirk when she saw the blonde on the other side of the far trees, confident that there was no way he was going to find her.

That was she thought, at least, until she felt several slimy wriggling _things_ make their way down the back of her uniform.

Shrieking, she jumped out of the saplings and did an awkward dance as she tried to get the things out of her uniform. She had just managed to get the last of what turned out to be worms when she saw Finn rolling on the ground, clutching his sides and nearly crying from laughter. Her hands clenched into fists, shaking with fury.

"FFFIIINNNN!"

The blonde's laughter quickly dissolved into yelps as Ravess tackled him. Almost out of nowhere the other kids popped up to as the two rolled around, Ravess trying to beat up Finn, and Finn desperately trying to get away.

With a sudden crash through the branches Dave appeared and pulled the raging girl off of the blonde. "Alright," he said in a stern tone, "what's going on?"

Squiring to get out his grasp and back into the fight, Ravess pointed an accusing finger. "He put worms down my shirt!"

Dave raised an eyebrow at Finn. "What? It's not my fault she can't take a joke."

"Don't you know how slimy and _gross_ it was?"

Finn couldn't help but grin. "Yep. That's why I did it."

The response not being what she wanted, she started struggling even more. "Lemme go! I'm gonna pound him!"

Dave was starting to have trouble holding on to her. "You're not going to do anything like that." After getting a secure hold on her, he turned to Finn. "You are coming with us. The rest of you can play for a few more hours, but you need to get back on the ship before sunset. Understood?"

Satisfied with the chorus of "yes sirs", he turned to head back to the _Condor_, a fuming Ravess in his arms and a moping Finn slowly following.

**A/N: Finn, you're going to get into serious trouble one of these days if you don't choose your targets more wisely. Review, please. All flames will be used to make s'mores. :)**


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